Okay, get ready for another round of verbal body slams and charges of ignorance, but it's time to revisit Calvinism. I hate that theology with a passion, but keep in mind I do not hate Calvinists themselves (kinda like, "love the sinner hate the sin").

I have written quite a bit about Calvinism on this Blog. You can read some of what I wrote as follows, in the order of their appearance:

If you only have time to read one of the above postings on Calvinism then read the fourth one.

There are so many things wrong with Calvinism it's hard to know where to start. Calvinist cannot show the Bible is historically true for one; that some of the claims in it occurred, or that they even make sense (like the Trinity, the creation of a first moment in time, the Incarnation, Atonement, personal survival after death, hell, etc), nor can they harmonize the mythical creation accounts with science, the Flood story with geology, the Exodus story with archaeology, the Roman census with birth narratives of Jesus, etc. Nor can Calvinists show that their particular interpretation of the canonized texts is preferable to the Arminian interpretation, all of which must be true for their theology to be true, plus much much more.

Calvinist theology goes against civility and love for one's neighbor (that is if the neighbor isn't another Calvinist or Christian). It calls upon them to hate people just as God hates people (i.e. unbelievers, "fags," adulterers, and so forth). It calls upon them to worship and love a God who eternally and sovereignly decrees many people to eternal torment for his own egomaniacal glory (i.e., they could not have chosen to believe if they had tried).

But the bottom line for Calvinism is that if God has a secret behind-the-scenes will which no human being is privy too, then Calvinism commits the Calvinist to agnosticism. You see, it's not the Bible that tells the Calvinist what God wants them to believe or to do. No siree, Bob. The Bible is merely a divine aide to get believers to believe and do what God wants. God doesn't even need the Bible because he can equally get non-believers to believe and do what he wants. All that anyone believes or does is exactly what God wants them to believe and do. So no, it's not the Bible that tells the Calvinist what God really wants. God's secret will is his real will. He really wants me to write these very words even though if we read the Bible he wants me to believe and to evangelize. But the truth is he wants me to do exactly what I am doing. I am doing God's will right now, his secret real will! Praise Jesus! Hallelujah! I cannot do differently if I try. I could not even desire to do differently even if I try.

All of this means that Calvinists cannot trust the Bible. That's right. They cannot trust that what the Bible tells them to believe or do is what God actually wants them to believe and to do. Calvinism leads to agnosticism, a complete and utter agnosticism about what pleases their God. Calvinism also makes God a liar, despite the fact that Bible says God does not lie. Why? Because he tells us one thing in the Bible and then behind the scenes secretly wants us to do otherwise. As far as God's real secretive will goes, the Calvinist doesn't even know whether or not God is actually pleased with nonbelievers. Wouldn't that be a surprise to Calvinists to find that the people God was secretively pleased with are people like me, and that it is they who will be cast into hell while I and other non-believers are brought into heaven? ;-)

How can any intelligent person accept this complete and utter nonsense? Calvinism is quite literally bullshit, and God wanted me to say this!